Retailers seek tobacco tax freeze amid smuggling concerns
The pre-budget submission by Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) has highlighted its concerns following latest figures from the Revenue Commissioners which show that customs officers have so far this year seized illicit tobacco which, if sold, would have resulted in the Exchequer losing €15.8m in tax — approximately €5m more than the same period last year.
RAS said that in order to prevent any further damage to small and medium businesses in Ireland, it is calling for a moratorium on further excise increases until such increases can be proven not to encourage smuggling.
Chennai: Delivery boy steals 12 Iphones worth Rs. 5 lakh, replaces them with fake ones.
As per reports, B Naveen, a 21-year-old delivery agent, working with the e-commerce giant Flipkart, has been arrested for allegedly stealing 12 iPhones worth 5 lakh. The whole incident surfaced when Flipkart grew suspicious about the iPhones being returned in bulk over the last one month.
The delivery boy, incharge of the delivery area Washermenpet, used to replace iPhones with fake phones. Naveen used to place the orders using fake addresses and after replacing the phones with the dummies, he used to return the parcels to the company. The delivery agent used to state the reason of customer dissatisfaction, whenever he was asked to explain the returning of the phones.
An enquiry committee found that the phones that were returned were fake and were returned mainly from Chennai courier office, where the delivery agent used to work, said reports.A police complaint was then filed by the warehouse owner Vetriselvam.
Naveen, who completed his graduation from a college in Kodungayur, had been working in north Chennai area from the past six months.
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Huge armoured tank crushes fake Raybans and pirated DVDs in crackdown on counterfeit goods in The Philippines
It was an unusual sight but an armoured personnel carrier was used to destroy pirated DVDs during a ceremonial destruction of confiscated counterfeit and pirated goods in The Philippines on Monday.Rather than helping with crowd control or the like it was put to better use by helping to crush the contraband goods at the main police headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon city, Metro Manila.Government workers also used rollers to destroy the counterfeit sunglasses and other pirated materials. Filipino workers then collected the crushed piles and put the debris into rubbish skips.
Lear MoreThe real deal with fakes
Today, cheap cosmetic products flood the market. They are touted to be as effective as the real ones, and sell for as much as 70 to 90 percent cheaper than the real thing.
Lear MoreCigarette smuggling emerges as a new threat in Punjab
The matter in the court and the disclosures made by the enforcement agencies have now raised fresh concerns of tobacco smuggling in a state, already ravaged by the drug racket. Chandigarh: Amid a furore over a drug-crime thriller “Udta Punjab” that rocked the state two weeks ago, the Punjab and Haryana high court, last week slapped a Rs 6.5 crore fine on a Delhi-based firm for smuggling 900 cartons of cigarettes through Ludhiana Inland Container Depot (ICD), that operates under ministry of commerce. The case raised eyeballs on two counts:
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Fine of up to QR1m for smuggling oil products
Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday issued Law No. 6 of 2016 on combating the smuggling of petroleum products and their illicit transaction. Anyone caught smuggling oil products will face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to QR1m.
Anyone caught selling, reselling, selling his oil quota or using it for another purpose will face jail term of not more than 3 years and fine not exceeding QR500,000 or either of the two.Oil products means all products produced in a refinery by through treating hydrocarbons and related materials including diesel, gas, oil, LPG, benzene, petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, engine oil, lubricants. The law does not allow sale or resale of these products without licence, using forged documents to deal with these products using ratio allocated for specific jobs for other purpose.
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/qatar/386469/fine-of-up-to-qr1m-for-smuggling-oil-products
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Qatar Introduces Hefty Fine for Oil Product Smuggling
The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has issued a new law envisaging fines of up to 1 million rials (US$275,000) and a prison sentence of up to 10 years for smuggling oil products.Oil product, in the law, includes everything that is produced in a refinery, including jet fuel, gasoline, lubricants, and more, the Peninsula daily reports. According to Qatari legislation, these cannot be sold or resold without a license that allocates a certain oil product quota for producers.Producers who abuse their quota by selling it or using it improperly also face a fine of up to 500,000 rials (US$137,300) and a prison sentence of up to three years.Qatar has been active lately in updating its oil production and export policies. Local media recently reported that the emirate is considering setting up a new company to take care of marketing the country’s oil productions internationally.Currently, this is being done by independent company Tasweeq, which buys the oil and gas products from local refiners and then resells them. and the divestment of its foreign investment unit.
Lear MoreCAN NEW TECHNOLOGIES THWART COUNTERFIETERS
Earlier this month, Jack Ma, chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, made headlines when he declared that counterfeiters can “make better quality, better prices than the real product.” Ma’s comment, made to investors at a company meeting, came during an ongoing dispute over Alibaba’s induction into the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC). After Alibaba joined in April, IACC members Michael Kors, Gucci America and Tiffany & Co. all quit the US-based lobbying group in protest over the sale of counterfeit goods on Alibaba and its affiliate sites. In May, the IACC suspended Alibaba’s membership.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/01/alibaba-announces-new-system-to-track-and-remove-fake-goods/
Lear MoreKenya’s anti-counterfeit agency confiscates fake goods worth Sh1 billion
ACA yesterday said it had confiscated the products, a day after goods worth about Sh100 million were destroyed through burning. Destruction of most of the fake goods has, however, been held back by litigation after the owners moved to court. The agency, which marked the annual World Anti-Counterfeiting Day yesterday, urged consumers to be vigilant as they too are critical stakeholders in fighting counterfeits. In 2016, the event theme and activities are expected to increase awareness on counterfeiting among stakeholders including consumers, who have in many instances been duped to buying fakes.
Lear MoreUS airmen, Border Force members allegedly join crime gangs involved in smuggling
Sydney-based US Air Force personnel, Australian Border Force officials and Commonwealth-licensed customs brokers are suspected to have joined international crime syndicates involved in smuggling illicit goods into the country.The revelations come as top security expert Neil Fergus warns that border security gaps may be exploited by terrorists, and former NSW police commissioner Ken Moroney says the Coalition’s decision to scrap an anti-corruption board will increase customs graft.A Fairfax Media/ABC 7.30 investigation can reveal that police recently arrested US airmen Jarvis Cobb and Christopher Paul and charged them with fraud offences.
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